1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus and a medical wound dressing for aspirating, irrigating and/or cleansing wounds, and a method of treating wounds using such apparatus for aspirating, irrigating and/or cleansing wounds.
It relates in particular to such an apparatus, wound dressing and method that can be easily applied to a wide variety of, but in particular chronic, wounds, to cleanse them of materials that are deleterious to wound healing, whilst distributing materials that are beneficial in some therapeutic aspect, in particular to wound healing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Aspirating and/or irrigating apparatus are known, and tend to be used to remove wound exudate during wound therapy. In known forms of such wound therapy, aspiration and irrigation of the wound take place sequentially.
Each part of the therapy cycle is beneficial in promoting wound healing:
Aspiration applies a negative pressure to the wound, which is beneficial in itself in promoting wound healing by removing materials deleterious to wound healing with the wound exudate, reducing bacterial load, combating peri-wound oedema, increasing local blood flow to the wound and encouraging the formation of wound bed granulation tissue.
Irrigation cleanses wounds of materials that are deleterious to wound healing by diluting and moving wound exudate (which is typically relatively little fluid and may be of relatively high viscosity and particulate-filled.
Additionally, relatively little of beneficial materials involved in promoting wound healing (such as cytokines, enzymes, growth factors, cell matrix components, biological signalling molecules and other physiologically active components of the exudate) are present in a wound, and are not well distributed in the wound, i.e. they are not necessarily present in parts of the wound bed where they can be potentially of most benefit. These may be distributed by irrigation of the wound and thus aid in promoting wound healing.
The irrigant may additionally contain materials that are potentially or actually beneficial in respect of wound healing, such as nutrients for wound cells to aid proliferation, and gases, such as oxygen. These may be distributed by irrigation of the wound and thus aid in promoting wound healing.
If aspiration and irrigation therapy is applied sequentially to a wound, the two therapies, each of which is beneficial in promoting wound healing, can only be applied intermittently.
Thus, the wound will lose the abovementioned known beneficial effects of aspiration therapy on wound healing, at least in part, while that aspiration is suspended during irrigation.
Additionally, for a given aspirate flow, whilst materials that are potentially or actually deleterious in respect of wound healing are removed from wound exudate, the removal in a given time period of application of the total irrigate and/or aspirate therapy will normally be less effective and/or slower than with continuous application of aspiration.
Even less to be desired, is that while aspiration is not applied to the wound, wound exudate and materials deleterious to wound healing (such as bacteria and debris, and iron II and iron III and for chronic wounds proteases, such as serine proteases) will pool on the wound bed and hinder wound healing, especially in a highly exuding wound. The influx of local oedema will also add to the chronicity of the wound. This is especially the case in chronic wounds.
Depending on the relative volumes of irrigant and wound exudate, the mixed exudate-irrigant fluid and may be of relatively high viscosity and/or particulate-filled. Once it is present and has pooled, it may be more difficult to shift by the application of aspiration in a conventional sequential aspirate—irrigate—dwell cycle than with continuous simultaneous aspiration of the wound, owing to the viscosity and blockage in the system.
The wound will also lose the abovementioned beneficial effects of irrigation therapy on wound healing, at least in part, while that irrigation is suspended during aspiration.
These benefits in promoting wound healing include the movement of materials that are beneficial in promoting wound healing, such as those mentioned above.
Additionally, for a given irrigant flow, the cleansing of the wound and the distribution by irrigation of the wound of such beneficial materials in a given time period of application of the total irrigate and/or aspirate therapy when such therapy is in a conventional sequential aspirate—irrigate—dwell cycle will normally be less effective and/or slower than with continuous application of aspiration.
Such known forms of aspiration and/or irrigation therapy systems also often create a wound environment that may result in the loss of optimum performance of the body's own tissue healing processes, and slow healing and/or in weak new tissue growth that does not have a strong three-dimensional structure adhering well to and growing from the wound bed.
This is a significant disadvantage, in particular in chronic wounds.
The relevant devices tend not to be portable.
It thus would be desirable to provide a system of aspiration and irrigation therapy for a wound, which can remove wound exudate and materials deleterious to wound healing from contact with the wound bed, whilst simultaneously cleansing it and distributing materials that are beneficial in promoting wound healing across it.